Diagnosing Plant Problems

Last updated: Aug 05 2026

Key takeaways

Accurate plant diagnosis starts by identifying the plant correctly and determining what healthy growth should normally look like.

Examine the entire plant and its surroundings for patterns in symptoms, signs of pests or disease, and environmental stress factors.

Consider recent weather, watering, soil, chemicals, maintenance, and site changes before deciding what caused a plant problem.

When trying to diagnose problems with poor plant performance due to insects and other pests, it is important to gather as much information as possible. Ideally, you would “see for yourself” by visiting the site where you can gather the most information. But sometimes you may have to rely on documentation, samples, and descriptions from those submitting the issue. The following tips should help.

It is important to know the type of plant being attacked. This may help narrow down the identity of the pest. Many pests have preferred host plants that they target, and most pest identification references are organized by the type of host plant.

When determining corrective actions, consider the life cycle of the pests and the timing around when it was detected and diagnosed. It could be that nothing can be done during the current growing season, or that other things must be done to prevent the problem from reoccurring in the next growing season.

Make sure that you have properly identified the root cause before recommending or taking corrective actions. It could be that the pests are not the real problem. The problem could be caused by disease, too little or too much water, too little or too much light, or other conditions and cultural practices.

Written by

Abby Healy

Abby is an avid plant lover and the Director of Content at FastGrowingTrees.com. She grew up in Maine, graduated from Davidson College, and now resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and two dogs. Her previous roles include leading content teams at Red Ventures, a large digital media company, and launching the content and marketing functions at an ecommerce analytics start-up.

While her indoor plant collection is always growing, she also loves landscaping tips and learning more about plant care and maintenance. Her favorite plants are Japanese maples, roses of all kinds, and unique house plants.